Eternity's Hero
by Shiro Arceus
Summary: A year after the battle of Twilight, Link met a strange youth who claims that he is Eternity's last hero from the future. With the ability to glimpse into one's memories, and with the help of a mysterious girl Sheik and a youth with overflowing power and a Dark Triforce Mark will he be able to defeat the source of all evil? Post-TP, relates to OoT in later chaps.


_**A/N: Okay, so this is actually a story I've been developing for the longest of time, and is a remake of my now-deleted fic, deity of the tetraforce, which... Can't actually be called a remake? Since, the plot's changed completely since then, and I've improved on the grammar a LOT since then, and I've changed the main character to TP Link... So yeah.**_

_**This takes place a few years after the events in TP, hence why Link is a knight commander now, and I added Sheik, whose story will be told in greater detail later on! Anyway, that's it for now, I hope you enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda. Ha! I wish. They belong to Nintendo and its creators.**

**Eternity's Hero**

**Chapter 1: Mark of the Triforce of Darkness**

* * *

><p>An alluring elegy greeted him as he stepped into the room, a mix of puzzled and stunned look present on his face. The place looked... outlandish, to say the least. From the spotless floor to the soaring ceiling, everything was covered in carvings of peculiar symbols that he had never seen before. Sunlight seeped in through the enormous windows on each side, while the six pillars whose top managed to reach the highest point of the room only emphasized on the majesty that the structure emit.<p>

Where was this place?

The youth looked around in awe, his mouth gaping and his eyes filled with wonder as he made his way down the stairs, running a hand over the shining handle as he did so. Everything about the place brought a smile on his face - bright, ordered, calming, and majestic all at once, what else could he ask for? A calming atmosphere was everything he could've wanted, especially at dire times - like this one, for instance.

Wait, why had he been panicking in the first place? Did something happen?

His thoughts were soon cut off as the aforementioned song became more apparent after the wonder had dissipated. As mentioned before, the room had given off a serene aura that had considerably calmed him down, yet, the aria had a somewhat melancholic tune to it. As if it told the story of a warrior, who did not quite get the happy ending he was expecting for - there was a hint of hopelessness, yes, but the somewhat heroic melody gave the blond a slightly different impression than what the piece might have suggested.

The music's tone was the least of his worries, though. How could it perform when the performer themselves was nowhere to be seen? The hymn was still playing, so someone must've been strumming it from _somewhere_. The question was... where? When he was wondering about the strummer's whereabouts, one, fascinating passage caught his attention; a small, dark, and mysterious door in the north end of the room. That looked like a good place to start searching, he had had no luck in finding the harpist anywhere in the immediate vicinity, after all. With a settled destination in mind, he began to make his way towards the aforementioned hallway, his heart thumping with both curiosity and anxiousness.

Beyond the passageway, barely-visible due to the darkness which surrounded the seemingly abandoned part of the room, sat a humble pedestal, complete with a shining blade which proudly rested atop it as it reflected the sun's light directly into his eyes, causing the Hylian to squint the moment he laid eyes on the intriguing sword. He could not, however, find the musician anywhere there, either. Or at least, not from where he was standing.

His curiosity eventually led him to a room with similar structure than the previous one's, with the only apparent difference being the said pedestal in the center of the room. Something about the sword felt strange. It was almost as if... the weapon itself was calling out to him, asking for him to grasp its hilt and free it from its ancient confinement. He gulped. Something didn't seem right about this... But curiosity had managed to get the best of him, and he couldn't just stand idle at the sword's - as weird as it sounded - desperate plea. The youth then hesitantly shifted his hands to grab the sword's purple hilt, grunting as he gave his all trying to pull it out of it pedestal. The second he realized it wouldn't budge, he deeply regret the decision he had made a few mere seconds ago.

Darkness suddenly engulfed the blade from top to bottom, barely scratching his cheek as he jumped back out of reflex. He was at loss of words, blankly staring wide-eyed as the once-majestic sword was being devoured by the very same dimness that came out of its own pedestal. Once the sword was naught but a black and hollow void of nothingness, the darkness began to spread across the floor and walls, swallowing everything that stood in its way, before moving onto its next prey.

_**Run,**_ A voice within him shouted,_** Run away!**_

He panically turned and ran back the way he had came in. The terrified youth didn't dare turn back, knowing full-well that darkness had wiped out everything it had engulfed from existence - the door, the statues, the wall, the windows, the carvings, and, if he wasn't careful, his feet as well. He didn't remember the hallway being this small and long, but that was the least of his worries. All he could think of now was the image of him being devoured by the darkness, something that would surely happen if he failed to reach the door before his pursuer reach him first.

It felt like an eternity had passed by the time he had reached the stairs, but a small glimmer of hope was all he needed to keep going. A hand was extended as the gate became nearer. Just a little bit more to safety, three steps... two steps... just _one_ more step, and he could finally breathe the sweet, sweet air of freedom outside, safe from any kind of danger-

Or so he had thought.

A scream escaped his lips as a pair strong legs forced him to slam his face to what little of the floor the darkness hadn't touched was left. Countless question began to pop up in his mind, but they all boiled down to one question; who or_ what_ was pinning him down to the ground? To find out the answer, he resisted the powerful force to the best of his ability, and glanced upwards as he met eye-to-eye with the humanoid-shaped shadow being which was using a foot and a hand to hold him down, while the other was holding a short yet sharp dagger, the wrong end of it facing the young man's vulnerable back.

No. No! This was not happening. Had he fallen? Had he failed to escape? Had his fate been sealed? This couldn't be happening! Adrenaline rushed through his body, cold sweat ran down his forehead, his whole body trembled with fear, and his wide eyes gazed at his attacker. He had closed his eyes at the face of his certain death, only to open them again when he heard a low whisper. One that he would've missed if it was not for his and his captor's close proximity.

"Sorry, Link."

Before he could even question the meaning of that apology, the sword of darkness was thrust deep into his back.

* * *

><p>He gasped as he sprang into a sitting position upon the grass, his eyes filled with terror and his tunic soaked in sweat. The hero's breathing was fast and shallow as he glanced around the courtyard, trying to convince himself that he had been out of harm's reach, unlike what his nightmare had suggested mere moments ago. Thank the Goddesses, nothing in the vicinity seemed to resemble the dreaded temple of his dreams. At this, the hero sighed in relief. There was nothing that would put him in danger... not anymore.<p>

"Link?"

His surroundings had soothed his heartbeat, but the familiar voice was moreso. Link shifted his gaze skyward and met face-to-face with the red-eyed sheikah - the last of her kind, even, - who was looking down at her co-worker with worry behind her usually emotionless eyes. "My apologies. Did I startle you?" Sheik asked as she swept her blonde bangs away, silent guilt laced within her voice.

It took him a few blinks to answer, "Um, no, not at all." Link covered the rest of his fear - and suspicion, - behind a somewhat forced smile as he pulled himself up with the help of Sheik's offered hand. He hated to admit, but for once, Sheik's company actually made him feel safer than before. While it was true that he didn't completely trust the strange Sheikah which the princess had claimed to have 'taken in' during the time Link was away from Hyrule, he could not deny that, even though the Sheikah Commander might very well be one of Ganondorf's remaining servants, he was in great need of her presence at the moment. "I'm perfectly... fine. Is something wrong?"

Perhaps he could not tell due to her face coverings, but the sheikah was showing a confused look at the usually-rude hero's sudden change of attitude. She had braced herself for a harsh and dismissive "no" from him, but it had became apparent that Link had put his suspicion aside at the time for some unknown reason. Sheik simply shrugged the matter off, for she had a much more important reason to be here than waking him up. "I could've asked you the same thing," She said with a chuckle, "I caught wind of your sudden disappearance from the recruits, and judging from the fact that you worked so late last night, I figured you must be dozing off somewhere." Here, Sheik reverted back to her usual, stoic self. "But I digress. The princess has summoned you to her study. An urgent matter, she said. I was told to train the trainees on your behalf for the rest of the evening, so you are free to go home afterwards."

Link raised a brow at the sheikah commander's message. An important matter? That was unusual. Although its hero had been absent for one year in search for a certain missing companion, Hyrule had not had anything more important than restoring its land to its former glory since the Battle of Twilight. Even after coming back and granted the place as Hyrule's honorable General, Link had never heard of anything that required so much urgency that it needed the Hero of Twilight himself to take part in it. What happened? "Alright, got it. Thanks." Said the Ordonian as he turned on his heel and towards the entrance of the castle.

Meanwhile, the sheikah warrior nibbled on her fingernails anxiously once the door had shut behind him, muttering, "...So the time has finally come for you to return... Link...", under her breath.

* * *

><p><em>Knock, knock.<em>

It took her a few moments to answer. "Come in."

The door opened with a small creak as he let himself into the princess' private study. He then bowed low to the ground, an action which the brunette who sat behind the ebony desk quickly dismissed with a nod. Perhaps he really should consider himself lucky for being able to merely _glance_ at the place the princess spent most of her time in. Most Hylian considered it a blessing to even look at the princess in person, let alone to visit the room where she honed her vast knowledge about Hyrule's history in. Commoners would kill to be in the youth's place, but visiting the princess was but a daily chore for the chosen hero.

Bookstacks filled the top of her desk, while a half-opened one obscured his view of the majority of her map which was laid upon the table. From the corner of his eyes, Link spied a shining pair of tiara which his princess had most likely taken off sitting on a nearby table. The room was filled with bookshelves and artifacts-filled wardrobes, ones he had never even glanced at since the day he was born for its contents had made his head spin after only a few pages. How could she read through, let alone remember all of these numerous books' contents, he may never know. "Did you call for me, Your Highness?" The knight asked, silent curiosity laced within his voice.

"I most certainly did. Please, have a seat." The monarch motioned for her hero to sit on the chair that rest on the opposite side of her desk as she took her reading glasses off, folding them while the green-clad obliged to his ruler's command. "I'm sure you've already heard of the news by now. After all, one of your recruits was the one who found the strange-looking boy." Zelda started with a sigh as she lifted her head. "Haven't you?"

Link was taken off-guard by this. He had thought nothing had happened when he had dozed off. After all, if there had been anything worth reporting, surely one of the trainees would inform their Commander about it. Or... had they tried already? Truth to be told, he _did_ have a vague memory of being shaken fiercely during his sleep. "Uh, no. I... don't think I have." Link replied with an awkward scratch on the back of his neck as he averted his gaze by putting it to the side.

Well, that _wasn't_ news to her. She had expected her right-hand man to have at least caught wind of it, but that didn't mean she wasn't expecting for this, either. It seemed, depite the hero's long absence, she had known him for far too long not to know how the Hyrulian hero would behave. "I expected that much," Zelda giggled, "In that case, it would be best if I start from the beginning."

"You _do_ remember the... _casualties_ that we've discovered after the Battle of Twilight, do you not?" Asked the Hyrulian princess, a question which Link answered with a nod as the reason behind his return to Hyrule before having the opportunity to find his twili companion came to mind.

"I do." Link said, "It is about the Triforce of Power's unknown whereabouts after it left Ganondorf, right?"

"Precisely." Zelda nodded, "We were chosen by the Goddesses to wield the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage for the rest of our lives - it is not something we could have avoided or get out of. On the sacred realm's behalf, we, the chosen ones of the triforce, protect the Triforce after it split into three pieces."

Link acknowledged her summary of what they had discovered so far about the mysterious and ancient golden relic by nodding, before filling her in on his own interpretation on the matter, "In that manner, the Triforce of Power should've either returned to its orginal place in the Sacred Realm, or stayed within its new bearer, the Demon King Ganondorf, but..."

"...The Triforce of Power could not be found in either places, yes..." Zelda finished the sentence for him as a sigh escaped her grim lips. Silence befell the room. Both The Hero of Twilight and the Princess of Light dare not speak as they pondered on this strange predicament whose answer they had no luck in finding for the past two years. Link had theorized that Ganondorf might have had another servant that had seized their master's Triforce right after it had left him, and although Zelda had denied his suspicion on Sheik being the aforementioned servant by saying she trusted her Sheikah friend multiple times, it seemed the hero's doubts hadn't gone away just yet.

Growing uncomfortable by this, Link gathered the courage to speak after a few moments, breaking the silence just in time before it became more awkward than it had already been. "So... what does that have to do with our current problem?"

Zelda's train of thought was stopped the second the words reached her pointy ears. Her head perked up as she focused back to the matter at hand, her delicate and gloved fingers brushed some of her brown locks away, tucking them behind her ear as she spoke. "Right. Well... As I have stated before, one of your trainees found something..._ peculiar_, when he was taking a break at Castle Town." The princess folded her hands on top of each other, and rested her chin atop it before she continued, "...It was a boy, unconscious near the town's west gate. No older than you, I heard. He has also stated that the boy bore a striking resemblance to you. Any ideas why?"

Link's brow was raised with complete bewilderment plastered across his face. If he had a drink, he was sure he would've burst it out by now. An unconscious boy of the same age as him who had a face that people would mistake as his? He had thought about letting this slip as a simple, albeit freaky coincidence, but although it was just a hunch, it seemed there was more to this than meets the eye.

"Before you ask, no, I don't have a brother." Link replied, much quicker than before for he had already known what the princess may very well be thinking, given the unusual facts the trainee had claimed to have seen. "As for your other question... I don't know any more than you do - I'm just as, if not more, clueless than you are!"

Zelda understood his worry - after all, it would be quite a surprise if she found a complete stranger who looked like a dopped-ganger of hers. The monarch shrugged. She held her hand up briefly, assuring the hero that she did not mind his reply, "It is quite alright. We can discuss about the boy's face at another opportunity. For now, there is yet another problem that greatly concerns me."

Link frowned, "And that is...?"

The princess looked as if she had trouble wording her next sentence. She averted her gaze to the side as she rested a hand on her cheek, thinking for the best way to give the news without upsetting the young hero. "Well... to put it simply," She hesitantily spoke, "He... has a Mark of the Triforce on his ha-"

"He has a WHAT?!" The youth's tone was raised as he instantly stood and slam his fists on the fortunately sturdy desk, sending his chair to crash down on the floor with a loud _thump_ as he did so. The princess, obviously taken aback by this shocking reaction, stared wide-eyed at her hero's furious ones. Suffice to say, the hero considered the Triforce's missing to be his responsibility. After all, he was tasked to save his beloved land, and he would never stand idle if he knew somebody else could bring harm to Hyrule, not until he vanquished the threat once and for all.

It took a few moments for her to regain her composure, pat Link's shoulder to calm him down, and continued despite the hero's unsatisfied look. "There is something off about him, though. And that is the reason why I summoned you here," Zelda breathed out a sigh, "The mark on his hand was unlike any other... But, I suppose you should see it for yourself. I have the boy confined in the Castle's Dungeon at the moment. I suggest you pay him a visit later - your shift has ended, yes? Believe me, if you do not take a look with your own eyes, you are not going to believe my words."

Link found that order to be annoying, yet intriguing all the same. He had been curious about who or where this stranger came from, but this supposedly Ganondorf's servant's strange Triforce mark was moreso. His gaze sunk to the ground as he sat back down, and finally, after a long and silent minute, he nodded in agreement.

Right before she wrapped up her and her commander's meeting, the princess sighed once again, "That is all, you are dismissed."

* * *

><p>The sun had almost set by the time he had reached the hallway which would led him straight into the dungeon Zelda was talking about. The hero had had a stern look on his face since he stepped foot outside the study, and while many recruits had given him a questioning look, he had paid none of them any mind. At the time, Link had a much more important matter to worry about, one he could not simply ignore no matter how tired his body was after a whole morning of training new recruits.<p>

Just what was going on with this mysterious boy? If he bore the mark of the missing triforce on his hands, then he should have posessed the Triforce of Power as well, therefore, that would mean he was the long-sought Demon King's servant... wouldn't it? Link had been pondering for the reason behind the princess's strange behaviour towards the seemingly simple conclusion the hero had came to, but he had finally decided to do as she had said and headed to the place the Hyrulian monarch had pointed out.

It seemed somebody else had already arrived when Link had reached the dark and damp cell, though, for an argument could be heard from deep inside the dreaded place. He could recognize one of the voices as one of his soldiers', but the same couldn't be said for the other, unfortunately. Whoever the youthful and loud, yet deperate voice belonged to, he must've been someone the hero had never met before.

"Please, I beg you! You have to let me out!" The aforementioned unfamiliar voice's words confused him. This was a dungeon, was it not? Why would a prisoner plead so desperately for his freedom, when he had known what kind of sin he'd done? There were different kinds of people, Link guessed. "I can't be here! For Goddess' sake, I swear I don't know how I even ended up here!" The voice continued in defence.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." Replied the Hyrulian soldier, "I've received direct orders from the princess not to let you out, no matter what happens."

"No, no, please, you've got to listen to me...!"

The commander had hidden behind a corner to spy the growing argument for a while, but it appeared he could not stand idle at this after all. Silently, Link walked out of the shadows, loudly stating, "What seems to be the problem here?", as he did so.

The soldier didn't just flinch at the sight of his superior who looked as if he came out of nowhere, he practically jumped out of his armor upon hearing the commander's voice. A salute was quickly given as he nervously turned around, meeting face-to-face with the honorable hero. "S-Sir Link!" He adressed his superior, stammering as he did so, "It-It-It's nothing worth your while, S-Sir! The strange kid has just w-woken up, th-that is all!"

At that, Link saluted back, "I see. Good job, soldier." The commander then made his way towards the jail cell, his curiosity grew more and more with each step taken. He had made sure to contain the emotion, however, for he had to act cool around his subordinates in order to honor the strong respect which was given to him.

Once he had arrived near the prison bars, his ears caught the strange youth whispering mutter. If he had heard right, the boy behind the bars had, either unconsciously or intentionally, let a small, "...'Link'...?" escaped his lips. Link had yet to question the meaning behind this, but for now, all he could think about was taking a look at the boy's mark of the Triforce.

The youth's outfit was, to say the least, odd-looking. He was wearing a white shirt of some sorts while a pair of dark brown pants covered everything from his waist to his ankle. Both garments were in a pretty bad shape - cuts were visible here and there, a small amount of blood was seen lurking on his collar and tie, while the ripped-off sleeve showed a large, bleeding gash on the stranger's arm. His wrist was bind by a rope, and although his face was still hidden in the dark, Link could catch a glimpse of the boy's dark blond hair and terror-filled azure eyes.

It was not until he had walked closer that the youth's face finally came to light. The second Link lied his eyes on the boy's, recognition washed through him like a ton of bricks. He knew that face, yet he had never met the person who had it before... not when he was awake. The terrifying memory suddenly came back to him. The temple. The sword. _The chasing shadow. _The armed shadow whose face looked exactly the same as the one he was seeing now.

Link jumped back partly in surprise and partly because he didn't want the dreaded dream to be remembered any longer. As he ignored the soldier's confused look, the commander's gaze sunk to the prisoner's wrist, where his blue eyes then widened even more than before.

While right there, sitting on the back of the boy's left hand, was a black and dim Triforce Mark.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: I am not the best writer out there, and I will surely make mistakes without noticing. So if you happen to know something that can help me improve, or if you think I should continue or if I should stop, please let me know in the review sections! Thanks for reading!**_


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